Sociobiological Perspectives on Human Development

Kevin B. MacDonald Editor

Sociobiological Perspectives on Human Development

With 17 Figures

Springer-Verlag New York Berlin Heidelberg London Paris 1bkyo

KEVIN B. MACDoNALD

Department of Psychology California State University Long Beach, California 90840, USA

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sociobiological perspectives on human development.

Includes bibliographies and index. 1. Psychology. 2. Sociobiology. 1. MacDonald,

Kevin. [DNLM: 1. Behavior. 2. Human Development. 3. Psychology. BF 713 S678] BF121.S62 1988 155.7 87-28369 ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-8338-6 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4612-3760-0 DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4612-3760-0

© 1988 by Springer-Verlag New York 1m,. Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1988 Al1 rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adapta­tion, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc. in this publication, even if the former are not especial1y identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone.

Typeset by Publishers Service, Bozeman, Montana.

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Preface

Sociobiology is the study of behavior within the framework of contem­porary evolutionary biology. As a synthesis of ideas from population genetics, ethology, and behavioral ecology. it has had a profound effect on the analysis of the behavior of animals. The acceptance of this body of theory as appropriate to the analysis of human behavior has come more slowly, but there is now a large body of literature concerning human behavior which is based on sociobiological theorizing. This work has resulted in an important reorientation in the field of anthropology, and recent work suggests an equally important potential impact on psychol­ogy. This volume centers on the application of sociobiological theorizing to the study of human development.

The studies collected here address a wide variety of old and new problems in developmental psychology which sociobiological theorizing and the data generated from this body of theory can illuminate. The field of human sociobiology is a growing and vital area, an area that has been greatly enriched both by recent theoretical advances as well as the collection of relevant data. It is a constantly changing field which is becoming more sophisticated both theoretically and methodologically. The early controversies surrounding sociobiology are largely irrelevant to current concerns, and as is the case with any good theory there is great variety among individuals who have been strongly influenced by it. That influence ranges from specific points of the theory to the interpretation of data and the problems that are thought to be impor­tant. This volume certainly reflects that diversity.

The first section of the book is devoted to theoretical issues arising from the interface between evolutionary thinking and developmental psychology. In the introductory chapter, I summarize the general approaches to developmental issues that have derived from sociobiologi­cal theory. The main point of the chapter is to describe the theoretical basis of human sociobiology and especially to emphasize the points of integration between established theoretical perspectives within devel­opmental psychology and this new perspective. Particularly important is an attempt to deal with critical theoretical issues which have been

vi Preface

the focus of past criticisms of sociobiology, including the issues of reduc­tionism and the adaptiveness of behavior. In addition, the areas within developmental psychology that will be most likely to be influenced by evolutionary theory are described.

Chapter 2 by William R. Charlesworth on resource allocation among children is a highly original attempt to view much of the behavior of children as organized around obtaining resources which satisfy ulti­mate biological imperatives such as maintenance, development, and reproduction. This thesis is the very essence of an evolutionary, behav­ioral ecological approach to human development, and Charlesworth develops this basic idea by categorizing resource dimensions, providing a framework for conceptualizing resource-directed behavior, and sketch­ing the developmental implications of these ideas. The perspective provided by this effort is in the tradition ofthe broad categorization sys­tems which have been very influential within developmental psychol­ogy, such as the ecological approach of Urie Bronfenbrenner and the contextualist approach of Richard Lerner, and I believe that it will prove to be a basic organizing principle for many of the central ideas of devel­opmental psychology, including moral reasoning, prosocial behavior, aggression, cooperation, attachment, adolescent sexual behavior, psy­chopathology, and many others.

Chapter 3 by James S. Chisholm addresses a different set oftheoreti­cal issues relevant to the interface between evolutionary thinking and developmental psychology. Chisholm points to the relative lack of interest in the phenotype in traditional population genetics and empha­sizes instead the relative indeterminacy of the relationship between genes and behavior, particularly for the more advanced vertebrates such as our own species. Especially prominent in his discussion are the ideas of developmental canalization and plasticity, and he provides examples of each phenomenon and relates them to life history theory derived from the biological field of behavioral ecology. Chisholm empha­sizes the role of early experience not only in influencing the later pheno­type, but also as influencing phylogeny by engendering novel selection pressures. The three chapters in this section thus reconcile areas of vital theoretical interest within developmental psychology with contem­porary evolutionary theory.

The second section ofthe volume is concerned with some ofthe tradi­tional topic areas of developmental psychology. This section illustrates well the ability of sociobiological theory to shed new light on traditional areas of developmental psychology as well as to present new testable hypotheses regarding human development. In Chapter 4, Dennis Krebs, Kathy Denton, and Nancy C. Higgins review a large body of research on self-knowledge and self-deception from a sociobiological perspective. The perspective taken here is a radical departure from the perspective of cognitive developmental theory which has been so influential in

Preface vii

developmental psychology. Rather than viewing the person as the rational, objective decision maker, these authors review a growing liter­ature indicating that people often deceive themselves and have all sorts of biases in self-conception which function generally in an adaptive manner. The authors show the strong links between this literature and sociobiological theory, and pave the way for an increased emphasis on these areas within developmental research.

My chapter on sociobiology and the cognitive-developmental tradition in moral development further develops the ideas of the self-justificatory and self-deceptive aspects of moral reasoning and attempts to show that the literature in this area can be interpreted within a sociobiological framework. The cognitive-developmental tradition in moral develop­ment has assumed a central place in developmental research and the­ory, and the ability of sociobiological theory to incorporate this work must be viewed as an important triumph of contemporary evolutionary theory. Although this reinterpretation leads to the rejection of several key claims advanced by some cognitive-developmentalists, particularly the claim of a strong connection between moral reasoning and moral behavior, the overall result ofthis exercise is one of integration between two previously very disparate theoretical perspectives.

One of the key ideas of sociobiological theory illustrated through­out this volume is the importance of the degree of biological related­ness in biasing human behavior. This is nowhere better illustrated than in Nancy L. Segal's work on human twinships. In Chapter 6 Segal describes the "special intimacy" shared by identical twins and relates this to patterns of cooperation, competition, and altruism. Particularly striking is the increased affective investment the members of identical pairs of twins appear to have, as indicated by patterns of bereavement and their behavior after being reunited. Segal's chapter also illustrates how an established methodology such as that of behavioral genetics can be expanded as the result of new hypotheses and research designs resulting from sociobiological theory.

Glenn E. Weisfeld and Robin L. Billings, in Chapter 7, bring an evolu­tionary, adaptationist perspective to some ofthe central issues of adoles­cent development, including physical and sexual maturation, girls' puberty rites, intergenerational conflict, same-sex bonding, and sex differences in courtship, competitiveness, achievement, and nurturance. Particularly fascinating are their discussions of male dominance, physi­cal attractiveness, and maturation rate. They describe data indicating the continuity of male dominance from childhood to adolescence and its dependence on highly heritable traits such as physical strength and ath­letic ability. Their chapter illustrates again the ability of sociobiological theory to integrate the findings from a large number of previous developmental studies done within a variety oftheoretical perspectives, and thus illustrates the remarkable degree to which hypotheses directly

viii Preface

derived from evolutionary theory correctly predict observed patterns of behavior.

Chapter 8, by Charles J. Lumsden, illustrates again the integrative potential of evolutionary thinking. Lumsden organizes a large body of developmental research on cognition by emphasizing species-wide epigenetic rules of cognitive processing. Focusing on prohibitions on incest, color vision, language acquisition, and musical understanding, he illustrates epigenetic rules which act to constrain the development of the phenotype within a restricted range. It is clear from Lumsden's chapter, however, that although the epigenetic rules act to constrain development and culture so that some phenotypes are impossible, there is considerable plasticity in the system.

The final section of the volume is concerned with parent-child rela­tionships, an area that promises to be a central focus of sociobiological influence in developmental psychology. The section begins with Chap­ter 9, by Martin S. Smith, who reviews work done on several key areas of parent-child interaction deriving from sociobiological theory. He describes data indicating that degree of genetic relatedness and the reproductive value of a child are important moderator variables in par­ent-child interactions. Moreover, his research on grandparents and inheritance illustrates well the power of sociobiological theory in gener­ating new empirical predictions, many of which have been confirmed. Smith also reviews recent theory on kin selection mechanisms as well as data which suggest the importance of phenotypic matching and genetic similarity in kin recognition. This is an area of research that is just opening, and it is clear that we have only begun to realize the impor­tance of these mechanisms for understanding human relationships.

In Chapter 10 Robert L. Burgess, Jeffrey A. Kurland, and Emily Pensky focus on the dark side of parent-child interaction, using sociobi­ological theory to illuminate some aspects of violence toward children. As others have done throughout the volume, they emphasize the com­patibility of the various theoretical perspectives on these issues, and place the issues in a cross-cultural, historical, and cross-species con­text. Moreover, the chapter takes a highly contextualist perspective of child maltreatment, emphasizing biological and environmentally induced characteristics of the persons involved as well as the economic and social context of their behavior. Particularly interesting is their development of the idea of environmental instability and its effects on resources as a predisposing factor in child maltreatment. In Charlesworth's terms (Chapter 2), child abuse often occurs in an environment deficient in appropriate resources, including economic as well as affective resources. The authors demonstrate quite clearly that the evolutionary-ecological approach can integrate the massive social science literature on child abuse as well as generate new predictions. The chapter also deals very sensitively with the idea ofthe adaptiveness of behavior. Although well-reasoned adaptationist explanations abound

Preface IX

in the article, the idea of environmental instability and the emphasis on the balance between resources and stress are clearly compatible with the occurrence of maladaptive behavior. Their treatment shows, as they point out, that an evolutionary approach is not restricted to providing adaptationist explanations of behavior, but can shed light on maladap­tive behavior as well.

In Chapter 11, I develop a multifaceted theory which attempts to account for historical and cross-cultural patterns of the socialization of children and the transmission of culture. The chapter thus draws extensively on anthropological, historical, and contemporary data on socialization while the theoretical basis of the chapter derives from social learning theory, ethology, and sociobiology. This endeavor is an example of the type of problem and type of integration which could not be addressed by the established theories of developmental psychol­ogy, and it illustrates again the broad, integrative ability of a socio­biological approach.

Chapter 12, by Patricia Draper and Henry Harpending, as well as Chapter 13, by Jenny Blain and Jerome Barkow, illustrate several emerging themes and areas of interest in developmental human sociobi­ology. First, the approach is cross-cultural. They describe data from a wide variety of societies and place human development in a much broader context than is typical within developmental psychology. Second, there is concern with the plasticity of behavior in response to ecological contingencies. They review research on the adaptiveness of learning as well as research indicating epigenetic rules which bias learning in particular ways. These concerns, which are typical of other chapters in this volume, do much to dispel the beliefthat human sociobi­ology is exclusively concerned with behaviors which are genetically determined. Third, the focus is not on cross-cultural universals of development but on attempting to explain cross-cultural variation within a sociobiological framework. Particularly important in this regard is their interest in the correlates of father absence. Their approach is to attempt to explain variation in reproductive behavior by proposing a learning mechanism by which individuals are influenced by the availability of resources in their environment. This hypothesis illus­trates the salience of resources and economic production in evolutionary thinking, themes that are illustrated throughout the volume.

Overall, the volume argues that sociobiological theorizing must come to the forefront within developmental psychology. As indicated in Chap­ter 1, sociobiology is an integrative, ultimate-level theory which can incorporate the main theoretical approaches within developmental psy­chology, including social learning theory and cognitive-developmental theory. Rather than being a rival to present approaches, sociobiological theory will enrich these approaches as well as lead to many exciting new hypotheses within developmental psychology. This volume is intended as a start in these directions.

Contents

Preface v

Part I. Theoretical Issues

1 The Interfaces Between Sociobiology and Developmental Psychology 3 KEVIN B. MACDoNALD

2 Resources and Resource Acquisition During Ontogeny 24 WILLIAM R. CHARLESWORTH

3 'lbward a Developmental Evolutionary Ecology of Humans 78 JAMES S. CHISHOLM

Part II. The Domains of Children's Behavior: The Self, Moral Development, Altruism,

Aggression, Peer Relations, and Cognition

4 On the Evolution of Self-Knowledge and Self-Deception 103 DENNIS KREBS, KATHY DENTON, and NANCY C. HIGGINS

5 Sociobiology and the Cognitive-Developmental Tradition in Moral Development Research 140 KEVIN B. MACDoNALD

6 Cooperation, Competition, and Altruism in Human Twinships: A Sociobiological Approach 168 NANCY L. SEGAL

7 Observations on Adolescence 207 GLENN E. WEISFELD and RoBIN L. BILLINGS

Xll Contents

8 Psychological Development: Epigenetic Rules and Gene-Culture Coevolution CHARLES J. LUMSDEN

234

Part III. The Sociobiology of Parent-Child Interactions

9 Research in Developmental Sociobiology: Parenting and Family Behavior 271 MARTIN S. SMITH

10 Ultimate and Proximate Determinants of Child Maltreatment: Natural Selection, Ecological Instability, and Coercive Interpersonal Contingencies 293 RoBERT L. BURGESS, JEFFREY A. KURLAND, and EMILY E. PENSKY

11 Socialization in the Context of the Family: A Sociobiological Perspective 320 KEVIN B. MACDoNALD

12 A Sociobiological Perspective on the Development of Human Reproductive Strategies 340 PATRICIA DRAPER and HENRY HARPENDING

13 Father Involvement, Reproductive Strategies, and the Sensitive Period 373 JENNY BLAIN and JEROME BARKOW

Index 397

Contributors

JEROME BARKOW, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

RoBIN L. BILLINGS, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA

JENNY BLAIN, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dal­housie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

RoBERT L. BURGESS, Department of Individual and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

WILLIAM R. CHARLESWORTH, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

JAMES S. CHISHOLM, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

KATHY DENTON, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

PATRICIA DRAPER, Department of Individual and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

HENRY HARPENDING, Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

NANCY C. HIGGINS, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

DENNIS KREBS, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

XIV Contributors

JEFFREY A. KURLAND, Department of Anthropology and Department of Individual and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

CHARLES J. LUMSDEN, Clinical Sciences Division, Medical Sciences Building, Room 7313, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

KEVIN B. MACDoNALD, Department of Psychology, California State University-Long Beach, Long Beach, California, USA

EMILY PENSKY, Department oflndividual and Family Studies, The Penn­sylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

NANCY L. SEGAL, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

MARTIN S. SMITH, Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada

GLENN E. WEISFELD, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Sociobiological Perspectives on Human Development